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We have a lot of great pizza in NYC now, not all of it New York-style. We also have a lot of famous, touristy pizza places that are more hype than quality in my opinion. But one of my favorite traditional New York pizzas is John's (the original on Bleecker Street). There's another John's on W. 44th Street near Times Square that is almost as good.

But I think most people here will steer you to some other famous names. So this may turn out to be quite a list. I thnk you'll have your choice.

Two places I like that are easy to reach from most anywhere in Manhattan are Motorino and Keste, along with Forcella and Co, the latter owned by our most famous bread baker. All these are downtown, below 25th Street or so.

Want a colorful NYC experience? Some people love this spot and the characters you will encounter may make the log subway trip worthwhile; they also have a full menu of other foods. Nice on a mild afternoon but not my favorite pizza.

This has been discussed here over and over again, so take a look at past threads. If you are noto from here, and not a pizza fanatic, they might all seem great to you, so no need to immerse yourself into the various heated discussions that may ensue....it's all delicious!!!!!

We've had pizza at a few of the places named - Motorino, John's, Keste, and liked them all. I'd say of those, we liked them in the order John's, Keste, Motorino. Some people think Motorino is the very best, but we didn't like the crust as much as we did at the other two.

What you DON'T want is pizza from a by-the-slice place ---- I haven't found a good one in years. Anyone?

I (personally) don't consider Keste or Forcella NY-style pizza, but they consistently rank among favorites of people here. Time Out NY did a great article on some of the newer pizza restaurants last fall: http://tinyurl.com/cgqkc9w. It's definitely worth a look if you want to explore further.

But to be honest, pizza for me is a convenience food rather than a destination-food, and I tend to get whatever is available close by and don't tend to visit many of the best reviewed pie places (I'm not willing to travel for pizza unlike, say, fried chicken). But I'm looking for a good spot on the Upper East Side; my favorite place near my new apartment closed recently.

As the chains by the slice go, I like Famous Famiglia. The worst in all possible imagination, in my opinion, are the various Ray's.

If you get to Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn, the thing to have is the Sicilian pizza. It's thick and doughy and almost creamy in the middle of the thick square. It's sprinkled with parmesan and the sauce is very basic but very fresh. We also like Co. My favorite is still John's on Bleecker in the Village.

The OP asked about NY style pizza. What many of you have posted about is different.

NY-style pizza IS the big triangular slice.

These specialty pie places like Keste are more traditional Napolitano pizzas but this pizza genre is NOT a NY specialty. It is the new pizza craze, and has adherents throughout the country (here in the Dallas area, we have a bunch that negated my former complaint that there wasn't any good pizza south of the Mason-Dixon line).

The "Traditional Neapolitan" pizza is quick-fired in a hot oven heated by burning wood and has a crisp crust but fairly soft center. The NY pizza that the Italian immigrants have called Neapolitan (as opposed to Sicilian) is an invention of NY Italians - it is more evenly cooked, cooked for a longer period of time, larger than the Traditional Neapolitan style (there are no "personal" pizzas unless you're a football lineman) and thicker (not thick - the Traditional Neapolitan is a few millimeters, the NY is about 3/8"). It's also not confined to a wood oven - usually the cooking is in a traditional oven with higher maximum temperatures.

Actually, I agree with BigRuss - Lombardi's, Grimaldi's and John's are Neopolitan-style pizzas, which can be found all over the country (my favorite is actually here in San Francisco - Delfina Pizza). Traditionally, what was considered "New York Pizza" (the kind I loved and couldn't get anywhere else, still can't - the difference is now there aren't many places you can get it in NY either) was a great slice.

There has always been a distinction between the whole pie and by-the-slice. The earliest mention is in Verrazzano's diary, complaining of the nearly inedible venison pizza offered by the Manhattoes tribe to his starving crew. "Unlike all proper pies, the natives here do split it even unto eighths, which they then do fold upon itself and push it into the mouth, and much oil and sauce doth run down the eater's sleeve. May this never be understood as the common way to make pizza . . . "

Real, traditional NY pizza is sold by either the slice or the pie. The crust is very thin and crisp - never soggy unless you have let it sit a long time.

The problem is the good pizza they have to use decent oil and fresh cheese(neither of which you get in most pizzerias). IMHO to get good pizza you need to go to a decent Italian restaurant - not a store window pizzeria.

Traditional NYC style pizzas often use low-moisture mozzarella, which is not considered "high quality cheese' by many food mavens. Some of the best pizzerie I know of in the city. for example, Di Fara, often cited as the
"best of the best" is most emphatically NOT an "Italian restaurant." It is a slightly grungy pizza joint.

Ditto Artichoke on 14th Street, which I like quite a bit provided you order the square slice.

The traditionall NYC places are not using the DOP bufala mozzarella cheese, except as a possible menu addition at a much higher price.

Keep in mind that this cheese is flown in only a few times a week, and it is usually days from production to appearance on your pizza. In Campania, fresh mozzarella is considered good only on the day of production; not kept for several days in the frig as people do here in NYC.
I bought some at Vannulo (legendary buffalo farm near Paestum) and asked about keeping it in my mini bar for a day or two...I was practically read the riot act by staff at our hotel in Cilento.

Pizza sauce is almost always made from canned tomatoes in NYC's pizza spots.....that does not mean it is not delicious!

There are so many myths flying about around pizza, and so many labels. the good part of this is that most of them are very good, providing you stay away from chains and get a few good recommendations.

Serious EAts is a good place to start; they cover the subject quite often:

Apart from the small matter of having my new leather jacket (purchased days ago in Milano) stolen from my chair at lunch while I was in the Patsy's rest room back in the mid-ate 80s, I think Pastys ,might be worth a visit, allthough back then I might have accepted the theft with more grace had the pizza been more to our liking.

I would certainly defer now to those more familiar with its curent incarnation that I am. Even then , the pizza makers were from Colombia.

I would have to check but I think it is part if a chain, not that that would disqualify it by any means if your quality is great..long way for some of us to travel.

....as for the theft, that could have happened almost anyplace back in those "bad old days" so not fair to disqualify it for that one incidcience of malfeasence by a fellow diner. The neighborhood around the place has done a total turn around by now and I would not be concerned in the least about diing there solo, night or day. )it was also quite safe even back a few decades ago, the interior theft notwithstanding)